Tafsir al-Sadi - Abd al-Rahman al-Sadi’ - (653)

Tafsir al-SadiAbd al-Rahman al-Sadi’

(1–3) “In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. Alif-Lām-Mīm. The revelation of the Book, in which there is no doubt, is from the Lord of all worlds. Or do they say, ‘He has fabricated it’? Rather, it is the truth from your Lord, so that you may warn a people to whom no warner came before you, that they may be guided.”

The Exalted informs us that this noble Book is a revelation from the Lord of all worlds, who nurtures them through His blessings.

Among the greatest means by which He has nurtured them is this Book, which contains everything that rectifies their affairs and perfects their character. There is no doubt, uncertainty, or misgiving concerning it. Nevertheless, those who denied the Messenger—and thereby committed wrongdoing—said, “Muhammad fabricated it and invented it himself.” This is among the most brazen of claims: it denies the words of Allah, accuses Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—of the gravest lie, and asserts that created beings are capable of producing speech like the speech of the Creator.

Each of these is an enormously grave matter. Refuting those who claimed that he had fabricated it, Allah said:

“Rather, it is the truth”—which falsehood cannot approach from before it or from behind it, a revelation from One All-Wise, Praiseworthy—“from your Lord.” He sent it down as a mercy to His servants, “so that you may warn a people to whom no warner came before you.” That is, they were in dire need of a Messenger to be sent and a Book to be revealed, because no warner had come to them. Rather, they wandered blindly in their ignorance and stumbled about in the darkness of their misguidance. Thus, We revealed the Book to you “that they may be guided” away from their error, recognize the truth, and choose it above all else.

All these qualities mentioned by Allah contradict their denial of the Book and require them to believe in it and affirm it completely: it is “from the Lord of all worlds”; it is “the truth,” and the truth must always be accepted; and “there is no doubt in it” whatsoever. Nothing in it gives cause for doubt—neither a report that fails to accord with reality (1), nor any obscurity or ambiguity in its meanings. Moreover, they were in dire need of the divine message, and the Book contains guidance to every form of goodness and beneficence.

(1) Manuscript B reads: “a report that does not accord with reality.”

﴿١ - ٣﴾ ﴿بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ الم * تَنْزِيلُ الْكِتَابِ لا رَيْبَ فِيهِ مِنْ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ * أَمْ يَقُولُونَ افْتَرَاهُ بَلْ هُوَ الْحَقُّ مِنْ رَبِّكَ لِتُنْذِرَ قَوْمًا مَا أَتَاهُمْ مِنْ نَذِيرٍ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَهْتَدُونَ﴾ . يخبر تعالى أن هذا الكتاب الكريم، أنه تنزيل من رب العالمين، الذي رباهم بنعمته. ومن أعظم ما رباهم به، هذا الكتاب، الذي فيه كل ما يصلح أحوالهم، ويتمم أخلاقهم، وأنه لا ريب فيه، ولا شك، ولا امتراء، ومع ذلك قال المكذبون للرسول الظالمون في ذلك: افتراه محمد، واختلقه من عند نفسه، وهذا من أكبر الجراءة على إنكار كلام الله، ورمي محمد ﷺ، بأعظم الكذب، وقدرة الخلق على كلام مثل كلام الخالق. وكل واحد من هذه من الأمور العظائم، قال الله - رادًا على من قال: افتراه:- ﴿بَلْ هُوَ الْحَقُّ﴾ الذي لا يأتيه الباطل من بين يديه، ولا من خلفه، تنزيل من حكيم حميد. ﴿مِنْ رَبِّكَ﴾ أنزله رحمة للعباد ﴿لِتُنْذِرَ قَوْمًا مَا أَتَاهُمْ مِنْ نَذِيرٍ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ﴾ أي: في حالة ضرورة وفاقة لإرسال الرسول، وإنزال الكتاب، لعدم النذير، بل هم في جهلهم يعمهون، وفي ظلمة ضلالهم يترددون، فأنزلنا الكتاب عليك ﴿لَعَلَّهُمْ يَهْتَدُونَ﴾ من ضلالهم، فيعرفون الحق فيؤثرونه. وهذه الأشياء التي ذكرها الله كلها، مناقضة لتكذيبهم له: وإنها تقتضي منهم الإيمان والتصديق التام به، وهو كونه ﴿مِنْ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ﴾ وأنه ﴿الْحَقُّ﴾ والحق مقبول على كل حال، وأنه ﴿لا رَيْبَ فِيهِ﴾ بوجه من الوجوه، فليس فيه، ما يوجب الريبة، لا بخبر لا يطابق للواقع (١) ولا بخفاء واشتباه معانيه، وأنهم في ضرورة وحاجة إلى الرسالة، وأن فيه الهداية لكل خير وإحسان.

(١) في ب: بخبر غير مطابق للواقع.